WHAT in a Sentence

Learn WHAT from example sentences; some of them are from classic books. These examples are selected from a corpus with 300,000 sentences, including classic works and current mainstream media. Some sentences also link to their contexts.

405 example sentences for WHAT, such as:

1. Marianne hardly knew what to say.
2. I can't understand what you mean.
3. That was what I said immediately.
4. I don't understand what he's saying.
5. That is exactly what I said, my dear.

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 Meanings and Examples of WHAT
Definition Example Sentence Classic Sentence
what
 pron.  used to ask for information about people or things
Classic Sentence: (202 in 14 pages)
1  But what had amused me then turned septic on the air now.
The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 6
2  "I told you what's been going on," said Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 7
3  You are not aware of what you are doing.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 2
4  Marianne hardly knew what to say.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 4
5  "That is exactly what I think of him," cried Marianne.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 10
6  This is what I believe to have happened.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 15
7  to supply the place of what was taken away.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 33
8  That is exactly what I said, my dear.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 37
9  But I am sorry to relate what ensued.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 37
10  I only stood at the door, and heard what I could.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 38
11  Elinor made what excuse she could for her.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 41
12  That was what I said immediately.
Sense and Sensibility By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 41
13  I cannot pretend to describe what I then felt.
Frankenstein By Mary Shelley
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 8
14  Exactly what I myself had thought, many times.
Great Expectations By Charles Dickens
Context  Highlight   In Chapter XVII
15  Exactly what was perfectly manifest to me at the moment.
Great Expectations By Charles Dickens
Context  Highlight   In Chapter XVII
Example Sentence: (203 in 14 pages)
16  Ability is what you're capable of doing.
17  I'd had the training to suss out what he was up to.
18  There is an element of truth in what you say.
19  There's no truth/not aword of truth in what he says.
20  So much of what's on TV is pure dross.
21  A TV playback showed exactly what had happened.
22  I don't understand what you're trying to say.
23  I don't understand what he's saying.
24  I couldn't understand what he was mumbling about.
25  I can't understand what you mean.
26  Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
27  We knows not what is good until we have lost it.
28  Most of what they told us was pure fantasy.
29  Tell us exactly what happened and don't prevaricate.
30  No, what I meant was we need to use cheaper materials.